The Office 365 subscription productivity suite is to be renamed Microsoft 365 with a host of value-added, consumer-focused features for good measure.
The shift sees the launch of personal and family plans for the same price, designed to bring more everyday consumers into play. You’ll still get access to the likes of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and the like, as well as 1TB of OneDrive storage (per person) and 60 minutes of Skype calls.
Microsoft is also rolling out a new Family Safety app, to help log screen time across multiple devices. It’ll also be possible for families to share their locations akin to Apple’s Find My tool. There’s also a driving report so parents can keep tabs on newly-qualified drivers.
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Elsewhere, the company is also adding the AI-powered editor to Word and Outlook. That’s designed to help with written language, grammar and structure. It also includes a similarity checker, that should keep you on the straight and narrow in terms of plagiarism.
The PowerPoint Presenter Coach, which is currently exclusive to the existing Microsoft 365 tool, is coming to the consumer focused suite. This will help those laden with delivering presentation to hit the right notes, improve their speech and drop that boring monotone diatribe.
The new service also means Microsoft Teams will be available to consumers for the first time. Currently, the communications app is only available for organisations, which might assist the self-employed in staying in touch with contemporaries. Microsoft also wants to market Teams as a tool for community organisers and groups of friends who’re planning a trip today.
The prices stay the same as the current Office 365 model, which means it $6.99/£5.99 per month, or $69.99/£59.99 per year. The family plan is $9.99/£7.99 a month, or $99.99/£79.99 a year and includes access for up to six people. The change comes into effect on April 21.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.